One Afternoon after Work
by kevlar624
Summary: Don promised Charlie a ride home but his brother never shows up. This is my first Numb3rs fic. Reviews will be very appreciated.


**A/N: **I don't own Numb3rs and its characters. And I want to say thank you for my beta reader, Artemis Rain, for the help.  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**One Afternoon after Work**

Don Eppes took a glance at his watch. It was 2:30 pm. He leaned his back to his chair and rubbed his face. He was exhausted. He had promised his brother he'd pick him up around four. They were going to go home together for dinner with their father.

Don had closed his case a couple of hours earlier. He and his team had caught the guy behind the LA bombings over the past few months. Someone had been setting off fireworks, and was using the entirety of LA as his backyard. He bombed 5 places and killed almost a hundred in total. This guy definitely wasn't thinking about innocents' lives. Don was more than happy to have caught the guy and he was grateful the case was closed. The case had kept him away from a good night's sleep for the past month.

Earlier that day, Don and his FBI team had headed off to an abandoned warehouse. Charlie helped Don's team by defining an area which had the highest probability the bomber might live there. Don checked the area on the map and decided the warehouse was the most likely place to start searching.

When Don and his FBI team entered the warehouse, they found a guy who was in the middle of making another set of bombs. He was surprised when he saw the FBI and made an attempt to escape. His attempt reached a dead end, since the FBI had the warehouse surrounded. The guy was arrested without too much effort. Don and the other agents searched the warehouse and found tools and equipment for making bombs. _This must be the guy_, Don thought.

Don took another glance around the room and found a notebook. He opened it and read what was inside. It was the bomber's plan. When and where he'd put the bomb. The guy wrote his plans pretty neatly. Don suddenly felt a chill run down his spine as he read where the next bomb would explode. CalSci University. Images of himself going to CalSci in response to a call that a bomb was detonated, seeing the building was badly damaged, and seeing Charlie was badly injured flashed through his mind. Don shook his head and took a deep breath. They got the guy. CalSci was safe. _Charlie_ was safe.

Now what Don needed to do was finish his report. As soon as he did that, he could leave the office and head through the LA traffic towards CalSci. He could see for himself that the CalSci building was still there, untouched by the bomber. He would find his brother in his office and together they'd go home and eat dinner.

Don was about to get up from his desk and leave when he heard a loud, deafening sound that caught his attention. He felt the floor below him shaking. Don looked out the window and saw a cloud of black smoke, followed by pieces of the collapsed ceiling, almost hit one of the agents there. _This is not good._ Don had one thought in his mind. A bomb was detonated near –if not in front of-- the FBI Office. Don picked up his suit jacket and tried to keep himself calm. He was heading to the emergency exit when something hit his head and his back. Hard. He felt himself falling to the floor and everything went dark.

----

Charlie Eppes was glancing at his watch for the fifth time that evening. His brother had promised to pick him up around four and it was 5:15 pm already. Don was usually on time –if not early. And if he was going to be late, he would have called. Now that was the problem. There was no word from Don and Charlie couldn't reach his brother's cell phone. Charlie had worried at first that something might be wrong, but quickly dismissed that thought. Maybe Don was still busy with the case and forgot to call. _That must be it_, Charlie thought. So Charlie decided to stop waiting for his brother and went home by himself.

When Charlie arrived at his house, he went in through the back door, straight to the kitchen to grab some water. His father was there in the kitchen, preparing dinner. Alan was surprised to see Charlie come home alone and he didn't hear any other sound which would tell him that Don was inside the house. Don had told him earlier that he'd be coming home for dinner with Charlie. So…there was Charlie. Where was Don?

"Charlie, where's your brother?"

Charlie shrugged. "I don't know. He didn't show up at CalSci, so I came home."

"Did he say anything? Or call you maybe?"

"Nope." Charlie answered as he walked to the living room and noticed the TV was on. "Dad, did you leave the TV on?"

"Yes, I guess I did." Alan said from the kitchen. "Do you know when Don will come home? Or if he _will_ come home?"

Charlie didn't answer his father's question nor did he hear it. His eyes were focused on the TV. It was showing breaking news about a bomb which had been detonated in front of the FBI Office. It exploded around 3.45 pm. Charlie took a glance at his watch. It had happened barely two hours ago.

"Charlie?" Alan called from the doorway between the living room and the kitchen. Charlie looked at his father. "Did you hear what I asked?"

"Um…no, Dad. Sorry. What did you ask?"

Charlie tried to keep his face normal as he asked his father to repeat the question, but he didn't do a very good job of it. His father's expression became worried and he walked over to see what Charlie had seen on TV. But Charlie was ahead of him and quickly turned it off. He ran to the back door and yelled, "Don't turn on the TV until I say so!" before closing the door.

Charlie ran as fast as he could to get his bike, hopped on, and started to peddle it to the FBI building. Halfway there, he realized he forgot to put his helmet on. Since turning back to the house wasn't an option, he decided to keep going, vowing to be extra-careful.

On his way to the FBI building, Charlie was thinking. The bombing must be the reason Don didn't call and he couldn't reach Don's cell. The lines were jammed by so many people trying to contact their loved ones. Don was alright. Neither of them could call each other because the line was busy. That must be the reason. Charlie tried hard not to think of the other possibilities Don didn't call, like because something had happened to him. No. Don was alright.

Charlie's mind flew to the time, hours earlier, when he had received a call from Don, telling him that his equation worked and they got the guy behind the LA bombings. He also remembered that Don had said the next target would have been CalSci. It had frightened Charlie to hear this, but Don had assured him that it was just a plan. The guy was in custody and CalSci was safe. So, Don had saved Charlie. Was Don safe, too?

About a hundred feet from the building, Charlie saw a crowd gathering, wanting to see what had happened. Charlie abandoned his bike and tried to get closer. After a few minutes, he managed to get himself through the front line where he met a bunch of policemen and a police line. He saw chaos on the far side, but he wanted to get closer to the building. He wanted to find Don.

At first, Charlie had no luck getting through the barrier made by the cops. Somehow, a guy distracted a cop who had been just in front of Charlie earlier, and gave Charlie a split second opportunity to get through. He wasted no time and ran towards the building. Once he felt he was close enough, he stopped and studied his surroundings. He saw something black on the asphalt in front of the building, and thought it might be what was left of the bomb. Almost all the windows on the building were shattered. Charlie also saw many agents sitting or lying on the street with paramedics around them. Don wasn't there.

Charlie took a deep breath and walked closer to the building. He saw some firefighters leading people out of the building. Charlie wanted to get closer but one of the firefighters started pushing him away. Still looking at the building, Charlie moved back. He was hoping to see Don come out of the building. He didn't realize Don's partner, Terry Lake, was next to him.

"Charlie?" she called.

Charlie didn't hear. His attention was focused on the building and the people coming out of it.

"Charlie," Terry called once more, this time with a small tap on Charlie's shoulder.

Charlie turned to look at her. Terry had a bandage on her wrist and a small cut on her forehead.

"Charlie, you're not supposed to be here."

"Where's Don?" Charlie asked. He was surprised by his own voice, which was calm and firm like nothing was wrong.

Terry took Charlie by the arm and steered him away from the building. "Don…he was still inside. The paramedics are trying to get to him."

"Is he all right?"

"I don't know, Charlie." Terry was trying hard to keep herself calm for Charlie. When she saw Alan's face among the crowd, it became a lot harder. She sighed and steered Charlie back to the line. "Your father is here, Charlie."

Charlie was keeping his gaze on the building when he heard her speak. He jerked his head toward the crowd and saw his father there. He must have turned on the TV even after Charlie told him not to. But the urge to see Don made Charlie ignore his father's presence among the crowd. He turned his gaze back to the building and saw four paramedics carrying a backboard with someone strapped onto it. Charlie didn't have a good view of the guy's face but he knew it was Don. He shook himself free from Terry but he was too far from the ambulance. The ambulance pulled away. Even running as fast as he could, he couldn't even get close.

Terry ran to his side. "They're taking him to UCLA Medical Center. You can go there with your father, Charlie."

Without saying anything to Terry, Charlie gave the ambulance a final look before running to tell his father where they were taking Don.

----

Don woke up and from what he saw, he guessed he was probably in a hospital. From what was happening around him, he guessed he was in the ER. There was a terrible pain in his head and his back. He reached up to his head and touched blood. He felt uncomfortable lying with his back against the bed, so he made an attempt to roll onto his side. But the moment he tried to move, someone put a hand on his shoulder and held him still.

"Ah, no, Agent Eppes. Don't move. Try to relax and stay still. I know it's uncomfortable. I saw some nasty bruises and cuts on your back, but I haven't finished checking you over. Give me few more minutes and then you can lay on your side." said the doctor. She raised the bed a bit.

Don nodded. While he was waiting, he tried to ignore the pain by staring at the ceiling and trying to remember what had caused his injuries. He tried to recall the previous day. He had closed his case and finished writing his report. He remembered hearing some loud sound which caught his attention and then the floor started shaking. There was a cloud of black smoke, followed by the ceiling falling to pieces. Don grinned at the ceiling above him. The falling ceiling must be what had caused his injuries._ Plus the neon_, Don thought.

"Can you lift your head for me? I want to put a bandage on those wounds."

_Wounds? He must have suffered more that one head wound,_ thought Don as he lifted up his head. The pain on his back increased with the movement. He was relieved when it was finally over.

"Can I …?" Don asked as he waved his hand to the side.

"Okay." said the doctor.

"Thanks."

Don carefully moved his body so that he was lying on his side. He noticed an IV was attached to his hand but he didn't remember seeing anyone attaching it to him. Then he realized that he had been unconscious. For how long, he had no idea.

The doctor walked to the other side of the bed so she was within Don's line of sight. Don looked up at her.

"I'll give you something for the pain so you can get some rest. Someone will bring that by for you in a little while. I can see you might be experiencing a little bit of shock. Most people would be after an incident like today's, so I hope you can get some sleep. And I hope you don't mind staying here overnight, just as a precaution."

"I don't mind. Thank you, Doctor."

She gave Don a smile. "You're welcome, Agent Eppes." Don lay his head back down and she asked, "Do you want me to call your family?"

Family? Oh my God! Charlie! Dad! Don had made a promise to each of them. He'd promised Charlie a ride home, and he'd promised his dad he'd come home with Charlie for a family dinner. Both of them must be worried about him, especially if they saw the news on TV. And this incident would definitely hit the news.

Getting no answer from her patient, she bent down to get Don's attention. "Agent Eppes?"

Don looked to her, startled.

"Do you want me to call your family?" she repeated.

"Um…yeah. Sure. Thanks."

She gave Don another smile and stood back up. She patted Don's arm. "You're welcome. I'll leave you alone now. Someone will be here soon with your pain medication."

Don nodded. As the doctor left, Don began to wonder what would be going through his brother and father's minds right now. Don didn't know that when the doctor was leaving the room, she almost bumped straight into Alan –he was standing with his back facing the door. She told Alan and Charlie about Don's condition while Don lay thinking that his father and brother must've tried to call him several times and gotten no answer. Charlie had probably been the first to try, since Don was supposed to pick him up. When he couldn't get through, Charlie would have become concerned and told their father.

With so many thoughts running through Don's mind, he didn't realize Alan and Charlie were right behind him. Alan put his hand on Don's shoulder. Thinking maybe the doctor or nurse needed something from him, Don looked over.

"Dad!" Don was happy to see his father but at the same time confused as to how he could have come so quickly. The doctor had left the room just a few minutes ago.

Alan walked to the other side of the bed. Don looked up when his father was finally in front of him, but he didn't say anything. Alan had been worried when he'd seen the news – even though Charlie forbade him to turn on the TV - and had become even more worried when he saw Don's face. Alan could tell that his son was hurt and tired, since his face was pale, but what worried him the most was the fear he found at the corner of Don's eyes. It was quite rare to see Don scared.

"Donnie, are you all right?"

"I'm tired, Dad." Don answered.

Funny, he didn't say _I'm fine_ or _I'm okay_ like he usually did. It worried Alan even more.

"Is Charlie here, Dad?"

"Yes, he is." said Alan. He gave a small nod towards Charlie.

Don looked back. He was surprised Charlie was there. He didn't remember seeing him when he noticed his father. "Hey, Charlie."

Charlie looked at Don. He had been watching Don's back with a horrified look when Don greeted him. He waited for a moment, thinking Don might decide to lie on his back so they could talk. But Don didn't look like he was going to move, so Charlie walked around to the other side of the bed.

"Sorry I didn't call."

"Uh…that's fine. You okay?"

"I'm fine, buddy. Just tired."

Charlie nodded. He opened his mouth to ask another question, but Alan stopped him. Alan had some questions himself, but he'd prefer to let Don get some rest.

Alan put his hand on Don's bare shoulder. "You get some rest. We can talk in the morning."

"Thanks, Dad."

Don closed his eyes and moved to find a comfortable position. He felt his father tuck the sheet up to his shoulder and give him a kiss on the head. Seconds later, he heard a nurse talking to Alan about pain medication. Then, as the pain slowly eased away, Don felt himself falling into a peaceful sleep.

----

Don was back to normal in four days. He and the other FBI agents got some time off to recover from the injuries they sustained, and from the trauma of the incident itself. He left the hospital a day after the incident and stayed with his father and brother for two nights before heading back to his apartment.

Once he was fully healed, he made another promise to Charlie to pick him up for dinner at the house a week later. Don was back at work and Charlie still found it hard to believe that his brother would show up that afternoon. He remembered clearly what had happened over a week ago.

That was why he was caught completely by surprise when he saw Don waiting at his office that afternoon. Charlie didn't even know that Don was there until Don greeted him when he was packing up the stuff on his table.

"Hey, Buddy." said Don.

Charlie snapped his head up when he heard Don's voice. He stared at Don like he was seeing a ghost.

"Charlie, are you okay?" Don asked. He got up from his seat and walked towards his brother.

Charlie quickly nodded his head. "Yeah. I'm fine. Didn't expect to see you."

"I'm fine, Charlie. It was in the past."

"Yes, I know. But …" Charlie looked at the floor. He had come close to losing his brother, and he felt tears starting to form in his eyes. He quickly wiped his tears away.

Don walked closer and put his arm around Charlie's shoulders. "I'm okay, buddy."

Charlie couldn't fight the urge any longer. He wrapped his arm around his brother's middle and hugged him as tight as he could. He wanted to make sure that his big brother was real and really there in front of him. He was happy Don returned the embrace.

After a moment, Charlie stepped back. He released his big brother's body but Don didn't release Charlie's shoulder.

"Come on. Let's go home before Dad calls 911."

Charlie chuckled. He took his bag and walked out with his brother.

"Um…Don, can I ask you something?" Charlie asked.

"Sure."

"I've just been wondering…"

"You want to know why the FBI building was bombed when the bomber was caught earlier that day." Don guessed.

"Uh…yeah."

Don gave Charlie's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I knew you would ask that."

Charlie shrugged. "Well…"

"That's okay. I can tell you why. The bomber we caught earlier and the one who bombed the FBI were two different people with two different motives."

"Okay."

Don smiled to Charlie as he finally released his brother's shoulders and went to the driver's seat. He waited for Charlie to get in before turning on the ignition and leaving CalSci for the house.

During the ride, Charlie looked at Don. Don knew he was being watched but he tried to ignore it. But after some time, Don became irritated. He stared back at Charlie when they arrived at a red light.

"What, Charlie?"

Charlie quickly snapped his head to the front. "Nothing."

The light turned green. Don asked no more questions. When they finally arrived at the house, Charlie looked over at Don and said, "I'm just happy you're okay, Don."

Don didn't say anything as he got out of the car. He walked to the passenger side and waited for Charlie to get out. He put his arm around his brother's shoulders again and smiled. "Me too, Charlie."

_**End**_


End file.
